Community Update: July 30, 2017

Sunday, July 30, 2107

Dear Advanced Learning Academy Families,

Last week, the halls of ALA began coming to life with the arrival of teachers on campus as we begin preparation for the 1st day of school on Monday, August 14th.  The faculty, along with our new teaching and leadership interns, are participating in professional development this week, writing curriculum, and designing powerful learning experiences for students.

On Thursday August 3, 2017,  ALA at Fox Tech will host a Meet the Teacher and Back to School event from 3:30-6:30 pm. Families and students are invited to attend 1 of 2 identical presentations beginning at 4:30 pm and 5:30 pm in the locations listed below.  Before and after each presentation, support staff will be available in the 1st floor mall of the school to assist all families with the new, online volunteer registration form, update and/or confirm current contact information, drop off immunization records, submit uniform assistance forms, and much more! Families are welcome to arrive anytime, please just be sure to attend 1 of the 2 identical presentations at 4:30 pm or 5:30 pm to meet your child’s core academic teachers. Students and families may also drop off community school supplies on this evening, but are not required to do so.

Meeting Locations

• 4th & 5th Families: Cafeteria
• 6th & 7th Families: Multi-Purpose Room in the Music Building
• 8th Families: Senior Dining Hall in the Cafeteria
• 9th Families: Library Seminar Rooms
• 10th & 11th Families: Library Open Area

Looking ahead, we will host our Meet the Teacher event for ALA at Euclid next Thursday, August 10th from 5:30-7:00 pm. Please look for more details in next week’s email.

Have a great week!

Best,

Kathy Bieser

After School Care Registration for ALA at Euclid

Dear Advanced Learning Academy Families,

Registration for the Greater San Antonio All Stars Challenge after school program will take place on Wednesday July 26, 2017 from 1:00 to 6:00 pm. at Briscoe Elementary School. Briscoe is located at 2015 South Flores Street. Registration is for Kinder-3rd grade students.

It is recommended that ALA families contact the All Stars Challenge Program first at (210) 229-7827 for availability.

Thank you,

Kathy Bieser, Principal

Beth Koennecke, Associate Principal

After School Care at ALA at Fox Tech

Monday, July 24, 2017

Dear Advanced Learning Academy 4th-8th Families,

The YMCA will be on the Fox Tech campus July 25-27 in the 1st floor mall area at the times below to register students for after school care.  Our 4th and 5th grade students will be dismissed at 3:50 pm.  Our 6th-8th grade students will be dismissed at 4:15.  Afternoon dismissal supervision ends at 4:00 pm for our 4th and 5th students and at 4:15 pm for our 6th-8th grade students.  Please sign up for after school care through the YMCA if you need child care beyond these hours for your 4th-8th grade student. 

Best,
Kathy Bieser

YMCA Registration Hours

• July 25-27, 2017
• 8 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 4 p.m. each day
• Extended evening hours running until 7 p.m. on Wednesday, July 26

Lunes 24 de julio de 2017

Estimadas familias de la Academia de Aprendizaje Avanzada 4to-8vo,
El YMCA estará en la escuela de Fox Tech del 25 al 27 de julio en el primer piso en las horas que estan abajo para registrar a los estudiantes que se quedan después de la escuela. Nuestros estudiantes de cuarto y quinto grado serán despedidos a las 3:50 pm. Nuestros estudiantes de 6to-8vo grado serán de despedidos a las 4:15 pm. La supervisión en la tarde termina a las 4:00 pm para nuestros estudiantes de 4to y 5to y a las 4:15 pm para nuestros estudiantes de 6to-8vo grado. Por favor inscríbase para que su estudiante este en un lugar seguro después de la escuela a través de la YMCA si necesita cuidado de su estudiante(s) más allá de estas horas para su estudiante de cuarto a octavo grado.

Sinceramente,
Kathy Bieser

July 23, 2017 Community Update

Sunday, July 23, 2017

Dear Advanced Learning Academy Families,

With the month of July coming to a close and our attention turning to the new school year, I am writing today to share a few updates!

Over the last few weeks, we have added information to our newly designed website including Arrival/Dismissal Information, School Supply Lists,  and Uniform Information.  

School Supply Lists
We have set up a donation link for families to donate a full or partial school supply kit for a student who may be in need.  If your family is in need to assistance for school supplies, please fill out this form so that we can get you additional support.

Uniform Information.  
We are asking every student to purchase one logo embroidered uniform shirt that they will be asked to wear for special events and  The attached Uniform Flyer includes details on where and when the shirts may be purchased.  The vendor will also be present at the ALA at Fox Teach Back to School Event on Thursday, August 3rd and the ALA at Euclid on Thursday, August 10th.  In next Sunday’s update we will have more information about these two upcoming events.  If your family needs assistance, Student Uniform Applications will be available in the front office at both ALA campuses beginning on Wednesday, July 26. Families are asked to include all children enrolled in any SAISD school on the one application.

Arrival/Dismissal Information
As a reminder, please do not drop off students earlier than 7:30 am at ALA at Fox Tech or Euclid as there is no morning supervision of students prior to 7:30 am  and the school doors will remain locked until 7:30 am.  More details, specific to 4th-11th, can be found on the link above.  Additional information for our Euclid campus will be posted in the next few days as well.

Finally, Laura Sisson and Heather Westerfield, our librarians, are are seeking volunteers to help grow our library program. They  are looking for volunteers that want to help check books in and out, shelve, and keep our libraries open even when they are in classrooms.  If you are interested in becoming a library volunteer, we would love to have you. Please contact Laura Sisson via email (lsisson@saisd.net) or  phone (210.738.9730) for more information.

Please do not hesitate to contact me or any of our faculty or staff members if you have questions or need any assistance as we start the new school year!

A special welcome goes out to our new-to-ALA families.

Sincerely,

Kathy Bieser

Principal

Advanced Learning Academy

Summer Update

Sunday, June 25, 2017

Dear Advanced Learning Academy Families,

If you have visited our website recently, you may have noticed that we have launched a newly designed website.  The new website allows for easier editing by ALA faculty and staff.  Today, I want to highlight two communication tools on the website to help us better keep ALA families informed across the two campuses and grades PK-12.  First, there is a Calendar & Events link on the left-hand side under “Quick Links.” After navigating to the calendar page, you can view the ALA Community Calendar by day, week, month, or an agenda view. You may click on any of the events to view more details about the event such as the faculty contact or URL addresses to flyers. Additionally, if you use Google Calendar, you may also add selected events to your personal Google Calendar.  As you scroll through the calendar, you may notice several events labeled as “TENTATIVE.” We will be finalizing many of these events when the entire faculty returns at the end of July along with continually adding events throughout the school year.  

The second tool we want to highlight is Ms. Bieser’s Blog which can be accessed from the “About” tab under “Quick Links” on the left-hand side of the webpage.  Throughout the school year, we will be sending our weekly emails about upcoming events at ALA and posting those emails on the blog.  

Looking ahead, we will be adding a “Daily Student Bulletin” link to the website in the coming weeks that will be viewable to families where will we list announcements and special opportunities.

The school colors did not load correctly on my last email.  I am sending out this LINK with the school colors listed (Lime Green PMS 376 and Royal Blue PMS 7455).

Sincerely,

Kathy Bieser

Principal

Advanced Learning Academy

School Colors!

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Dear Advanced Learning Academy Families,

We have one short update to share.  Our official school colors are lime green and royal blue (see below).  We are currently designing an embroidered collared shirt with our logo.  We will send our more details about how to purchase the shirt in the coming weeks.

Sincerely,
Kathy Bieser
Principal

 Lime Green

Royal Blue

 

Community Update: May 29, 2017

Monday, May 29, 2017

Dear Advanced Learning Academy Families,

Dr. Vargas-Lew continues to meet with our 5th - 10th grade students to complete their choice slips for the 2017-2018 school year.  She is also working on career assessments, as well as four-year high school graduation plans (8th-1oth grade only).  Please not students will be bringing time sensitive forms home for you to review, sign, and return to Mrs. Ibarra in the front office.  Parents are welcome to attend these sessions.  You may click HERE for the schedule.

On Tuesday, May 30,  New York University-Abu Dhabi is coming to ALA!  A current NYUAD student, and former student from my time at the International School of the Americas, will join us to share her story in hope ALA  students will consider NYUAD as one of their college choices. All 9th and 10th grade students and their parents are invited to join us to hear this collegian’s personal academic journey. Click HERE for details.

Also, 4th and 5th grade students will participate in a mini field day Tuesday during their combined elective time from 2:20-4:00.  Athletic attire is encouraged, as there will be several activities involving water!

As the end of the school year quickly approaches, we want share a few updates and reminders with families. First, students recently selected green as an additional school color as part of our new campus logo, which will be shared on our new webpage in the coming weeks. Second, we will be holding orientation meetings over the summer  for new to ALA students to select courses and learn more about the school.

Finally, looking ahead to next school year, the first day of classes will be Monday, August 14.  For your planning, you may review the entire 2017-2018 school calendar HERE. Likewise, also for your planning, please be aware  the school start and stop times are changing slightly for our PK through 5th students:

PK-3rd Grades: 8:10AM-3:25PM

4th-5th Grades:  8:15AM-3:50PM

6th-11th Grades: 8:30AM-4:00PM  (no change from 2016-2017)

While this is my last weekly community update of the year, we will be sending updates every few weeks throughout the summer. Thank you for a wonderful first year and being a pioneer ALA family!

Sincerely,

Kathy Bieser